Art & Zen 2026 - Where Stillness Takes Root - A Zen & Ikebana Retreat

Both zazen and Ikebana ask us to practice in the same essential spirit by abandoning our ideas about the world to meet the world where it is. The Zen practitioner sits, releasing the urge to grasp or fix, simply present with what arises. The Ikebana practitioner empties their mind before the flower, listening for what the branch already knows about itself. These are not two practices—they are one practice with different hands.

Over two full days, this retreat will sow the seeds of both Zen meditation and Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, in their shared soil: the cultivation of presence, the dissolving of the gap between self and nature. Under the guidance of Revs. Keidō Jeromy Thotland & Jūshin Stephyn Butcher and certified Sogetsu instructor Trân Huỳnh, we will sit in stillness each morning before turning that same quality of attention to stems, leaves, and blooms. 

As ikebana master Suido Yamane taught, the essence of Ikebana lies not in what we do to nature, but in what we find there–sensing what he called “eternal life” within the materials and learning to harmonize with it [1]. This is the same “eternal life” that Katagiri roshi taught streamed forth wherever we might find ourselves and that we could taste in zazen [2].

Trân brings over fifteen years of ikebana practice to this work, exhibiting throughout the Twin Cities and serving on the board of Ikebana International’s Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter. Together, we will explore how the meditation cushion and the vase ask the same question of us: Can you get out of the way?

No prior experience with meditation or ikebana is required—only the willingness to meet flowers, silence, and yourself with fresh eyes.

[1] Art of meditation: Attitudes to nature in Japanese gardens & Ikebana, Shoso Shimbo, 1 June 2024.[2] Blue Cliff Record Case 3: Master Ma Is Unwell, Talk 1, April 19, 1980 Dharma Talk by Dainin Katagiri Roshi.

Retreat Leaders

Trân Huỳnh is a certified Sogetsu ikebana teacher with over 15 years of experience. She regularly exhibits throughout the Twin Cities including at the Como Ikebana Mum Show and Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She serves on the board of the Ikebana International Chapter #121 of Minneapolis-St. Paul and is a member of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Sogetsu Study Group and the Sogetsu Teachers’ Association.

Rev. Keidō Jeromy Thotland was born and raised in Minneapolis. His life includes experiences in the US Navy, retail, labor union work, and research. He depends on these, including family and sangha life, to remind him of the many ways of being. His focus is on the intersection of the everydayness of life and the everydayness of Zen, and the wonder that each moment can bring.

Keidō serves as a Senior Priest at MZMC in Minneapolis, MN and an Associate Teacher and Board member at Hokyoji Zen Practice Community in Eitzen, MN. He was Ordained and Transmitted by Ted O’Toole.

Rev. Dr. Jushin Stephyn Butcher was ordained in 2017 and received dharma transmission in the Katagiri lineage in 2025 from Hokyoji’s Guiding Teacher, Rev. Dokai Georgesen.

His first exposure to Eastern thought was through the TV Series Kung Fu starring David Carradine. In his 20s and 30s, he followed a winding path through Taoism and Tibetan Buddhism that eventually lead him to Hokyoji in 2008, courtesy of a blog post by Brad Warner.

A double rainbow member of Gen X, Jushin brings a latch-key kid aesthetic to his practice of Zen, including shikantaza, movement, and art. His understanding of the Way fuses traditional sources with neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and Stoicism.

About Art & Zen

Art & Zen is a retreat series that seeks to explore the interrelationship between Zen practice and the Arts, both Traditional and Modern. “Zen & Ikebana” is the first in the series with two more planned for 2027 and more beyond.

Registration fees cover lodging and food. Hokyoji compensates teachers through the dana system. If you would like to contribute, you may do so before, at, or after the retreat. If you would like to donate online, please click here.